Expansible shirt collars



July 7, 1959 G. KAHN EXPANSIBLE SHIRT COLLARS Filed Feb. 18, 1957ATTORNEY United States Patent 6 EXPANSIBLE snrnr COLLARS Leon: G. Kahn,Cleveland, Ohio, assignor, by mesne' assignments,.to Thev KayneeCompany, Greenville, S.C., a corporation of South Carolina ApplicationFebruary 18, 1957, SerialNo. 640,738

1.Clain1. (Cl. 2.-141) My invention relates to expansible shirt collars,and particularly to an expansible fastening for a permanently attachedneckband or collar of a shirt; and the nature and objects of theinvention will be readily recognized and'understood by those skilled. inthe art to which it rel-ates in the light of the following explanationand dc taileddesc'ription of the accompanying drawings illustrat ingwhat I now believe to .be the preferred embodiments andstructuralexpressions of the invention and the several features thereof from amongvarious other forms, expressions, combinations, constructions andmodifications of which the. invention is capable within the broad spiritand scope thereof as defined by the claim hereto appended.

With-- most shirts made-up from any of the various woven fabric shirtingmaterials, it is found after wear and laundering thereof that a certainpercentage of shrinkage takes place, notwithstanding prior treatment ofthe shirting material by various shrinkage control processes such as preshrinking, sanforizing and the like. Any such shrinkage. in ashirt,evenif but a small percentage, can cause the shirt neckband or collar tofit improperly and become too snug or tight-fitting about the neckof'the wearer, particularly if the neckband or collar is initially aproper and comfortable fit. Similarly, a proper and comfortably fittingneckband or collar of a shirt can, become too tight and uncomfortable byan increase in the size of the neck of'a wearer from an increase inweight or. other natural causes. Such conditions can, of course, beremedied, particularly with the collar attached types of shirts, bymoving the attached button by which the neckband is fastened in positionon the neck of the wearer, or by enlarging or resetting the buttonholewhich receives such collar fastening button. However, such remedy of thecondition amounts to a minor realteration on the shirt which requirestime and effort, so that it is frequently put-off or never undertakenwith the shirt either being put aside and not worn or being worn withthe resulting improper fit of the neckband or collar and discomfort tothe wearer.

It is a primary object of my invention to overcome the foregoingproblems encountered with shirt neckbands and collars due toshrinkage ofthe material of which formed or to an increase in the size of the neckof the wearer, by providing for yield or expansion in the neckband orcollar of a shirt at the point of fastening thereof into position aboutthe neck of the wearer.

A' further object is to provide an expansible or yieldable mounting ofthe collar fastening button on the shirt or collar neckband of a shirtwhich willautomati'cally conform the neckband and collar to the neck ofthe wearer in the desired proper and comfortable fit therewith at alltimes and without regard to variations of neckband and collar or necksizes.

Another object is to provide an expansible mounting for the fasteningbutton or similar fastening member of a shirt and collar neckband whichwill be of extremely simple' design and construction and readily mountedon 2,893,012 atented July 7, 1959 and incorporated in the shirt duringmanufacture thereof at relatively small cost.

A further object is to provide such an expansible mounting for theneckband and'collar fastening button of a shirt which in normal,unexpanded position thereof is substantially hidden from view andlocates the fastening button in its normal'position with the appearanceof the conventional collar fastening button sewn in fixed positiondirectly to the shirt or collar neckband.

A further object is to providesuch an expansible. collar fasteningbutton mounting which is a built-in, permanent part of a shirt and whichis not only readily laundered with the shirt but will withstand repeatedlaunderings without harm or impairment of its. functioning.

Another object is toprovide such an expansiblemounting for a neckband orcollar fastening button of a shirtin the form of a simple tapememberwhich is longitudinally expansible forattachment at one endthereof in fixed position within the. shirt or collar inpositionextending outwardly therethrough with the collar fasteningbutton attached on the free outer end of the expansible tape memher.

And a further. object is to provide such an expansible mountingwhichrequires as the only modification of. the conventional forms of shirtand collar neckbands, the provision therein ofa simple buttonhole formor slot.

With the foregoing and various other objects-,features and resultsin'view which will be readily recognized and apparent from the followingdetailed description and explanation, my invention consists in certainnovel features in design, construction and'functioning, all as will bemore fully set forth and specified hereinafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar referencecharacters refer to corresponding parts throughout the several figuresthereof:

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of the upper portion of a shirt ofthe collar attached type incorporating theexpans-ible fastening buttonmounting of my invention, the collar being shown in fastened position.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view in frontelevation of the collar of theshirt of' Fig. 1 in fastened position and showing in dotted lines theconcealed expansible tape member of the invention which carries at itsouter free end the collar fastening button.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the collar and neckband of theshirt of Fig. l with a portion of the neckband of the collar broken awayto show the fastening button mounting, expansi'ble tape member of' theinvention in attached position.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section through the collar neckband andexpansible mounting tape, taken as onthe. line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section through the expansible button mountingtape member of'the. invention, taken as on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

I have selected a shirt of the collarattached type with a form of theexpansible mounting meansof my invention for the fastening button of thecollar, to serve as an example of one possible expression and.adaptation of the invention. Such collar attached type shirt of theexample is disclosed in Fig.- 1, and is identified generally by thereference character S. This shirt S is of conventional form andconstruction open. down the front for closure by the usual verticallyspaced buttons F received in the usual buttonholes H, as will be readilyunderstood by those familiar with this type of shirt. The shirt Sincludes the attached collar identified generally by the referencecharacter C. This collar C in this instance includes the inner and outerplies 10 and ll'which are permanently stitchedto the neck portion of theshirt C and which form, in effect, the shirt and collar neckbandidentified generally by' the reference character N; Be-

tween the inner and outer plies and 11 of the permanently attachedcollar C of this particular example, there is provided a stiffening ply12, all in the usual manner familiar in the art for this type ofattached shirt collar. As will be understood, the neckband portion N ofthe collar C has the separated or detached ends 14 and 15 at the frontthereof with a buttonhole 16 provided in the end 14 for receivingtherethrough and therein the fastening button B which is carried by theend 15 and by means of which the collar is fastened in position on andaround the neck of the wearer with the end 14 in position overlappingend 15. The collar C is of the turneddown or folded-over type andincludes the downwardly turned outer ply 17 which forms the collarproper.

In accordance with my invention I yieldingly mount and attach the collarfastening button B in position on the end 15 of the inner or neckbandportion N of the collar C in position for fastening in the buttonhole 16when the end 14 of the neckband portion 15 is lapped over the end 14 andthe button B carried thereon. In this particular expression of myinvention I provide an expansible member in the form of a tapeidentified generally by the reference character T which is comprised ofa length of elastic material 21 attached to a length of non-elastic,fabric material 22. The strip of non-elastic material 22 is of flattenedtubular form, as will be clear by reference to Fig. 5, and one end ofthe elastic strip 21 is extended a short distance into an end of thenonelastic strip 22 and is permanently attached therein and thereto bythe stitching 22a. Thus, I have in this example provided an expansibletape member T which, if grasped at its opposite ends, is expansible bythe application of oppositely acting, longitudinally applied forcesthereto and which upon release of such forces will return and restore toits normal contracted and unexpanded length.

Following the teachings of my invention I provide a buttonhole or slot25 in and through the outer ply 11 of the neckband portion N of theshirt and collar with this buttonhole or slot disposed verticallyrelative to the shirt when in position on the wearer, that is, disposedtransversely relative to the longitudinal axis of the neckband portionN, as will be clear by reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings inparticular. This buttonhole or slot 25 has a length that is preferablybut slightly greater than the maximum width of the expansible, compositetape member T, that is in this example the width of the non-flexiblestrip portion 22 of the tape member, in order that such non-expansibleportion 22 may freely slidably extend through the buttonhole or slot 25,as will be hereinafter explained.

The composite, expansible tape member T is mounted and assembled inoperative position and combination with the collar C and its neckbandportion N by permanently attaching the free end of the elastic orexpansible portion 21 thereof to the outer side of the stiffening ply 12of the neckband portion by suitable stitching 21a through such free endand the stilfening ply 12 and also through the inner ply 10 of theneckband portion N (see Figs. 3 and 4). The expansible tape member T insuch mounted position is unattached to the outer ply 11 of the collarneckband portion N but lies between such outer ply and the stiffeningply 12 to which it is permanently attached in fixed position. With theexpansible tape member T so attached the length thereof is such that inits normal, unexpanded condition the non-expansible strip 22 thereof isextended outwardly through the buttonhole or slot 25 with the outer freeend 26 of the non-expansible strip 22 of the tape member T located inexposed position at the outer side of ply 11 and providing a mountingfor attachment thereto of the collar fastening button B. As will beclear from Fig. 4 of the drawings, the strip of non-expansible material22 adjacent its outer free end portion 26 overlies the neckband Nbetween the edge of the latter and the buttonhole 25 when the compositetape member T is in its normally contracted position. In this specificexample the composite tape member T has a length of approximately 2%"with a maximum width of approximately while the buttonhole or verticalslot 25 has an internal length of approximately /2". The free endprovided by the elastic strip 21 of the expansible tape member T isattached at a location within the neckband portion N of the collar Csuch that the free, button mounting end 26 of the expansible tape memberwill project a distance of approximately A" when the tape member is inits normal contracted and unexpanded position. The collar fasteningbutton B is attached in position on the outer side of the projectingfree end 26 of the expansible tape member T, as by sewing the samethereon by the threads 26a, so that the button is yieldinglydisplaceable outwardly on and relative to the end 15 of the neckbandportion N by expansion of the tape member T and will be displacedinwardly and restored to its normal position by contraction of the tapemember from its expanded position. The button B is positioned by theexpansible tape member T in its normal unexpanded position, located atand preferably partially extending over and generally obscuring fromview the major portion of the length of the buttonhole or vertical slot25, so that in this position the button B has the appearance of theconventional fastening button on the collar C of the shirt S. Bylocating the outer free end 26 of the non-expansible strip 22 of thetape member T between the edge of the neckband N and the buttonhole 26when the tape member is in normal retracted position, the possibility ofthe outer free end of the non-expansible strip 22, or the button B,becoming caught in the buttonhole 26 is substantially eliminated.Preferably the collar fastening button B has a diameter such as toassist in obscuring the buttonhole 25 when the button B is in its normalposition at and over the buttonhole when the tape member T is unexpandedand in its normal contracted position. For example, in this specificform of the invention the button B has a diameter of approximately fie".

In the use of the expansible, fastening button mounting of the inventionin the form as shown in the example shirt S and its attached collar C,the neckband portion N of the shirt and collar will have one of thestandard shirt sizes as used in the industry. Such shirt size will bemeasured from the center of the button B to the outer end of thebuttonhole 16 when the button is in its normal position for thespecified size of shirt and with the expansible tape member T in itsnormal contracted and unexpanded position as shown particularly in Figs.1 and 3. Preferably the expansible button mounting tape for eachneckband size will have a length or range of expansibility for theelastic portion 21 of a composite tape member T such that the button Bmounted on such fastening button B will function exactly in the samemanner as the conventional fastening button attached in a fixed locationon the neckband. However, if, through shrinkage of the neckband N orincrease in the size of the neck of the wearer, the neckband thenbecomes too tightly fitting, such condition is automatically inherentlytaken care of and remedied by an expansible mounting of my invention, inthat the expansible tape member T will expand or yield under the forcesapplied longitudinally thereof by the decrease in neckband size relativeto the neck of the user and will thereby reset itself to its new sizeincrease by displacement outwardly the requisite distance from itsnormal or starting position at the buttonhole or vertical slot 25. InFig. 3 of the drawings the fully expanded position of the tape member Tand the maximum position of outward displacement thereby of the collarfastening button B are indicated in broken lines, while in Fig. 2 thecollar C is shown with the button B in an automatically reset positiondisplaced yieldingly outwardly from the buttonhole 25 undercircumstances of decreased neckband size or increased neck size.

Due to the simplicity of the structure, consisting as it does of merelythe flat, expansible and non-expansible strips 21 and 22 making up theexpansible tape member T in its composite form, a shirt in which suchfastening button mounting is incorporated will in no wise have itsnormal conventional appearance changed and the laundering, includingwashing and ironing thereof, will not be affected in any way. Similarly,the expansible button mounting structure, because of its simpleconstruction and attachment in and to a neckband, will not bestructurally or functionally harmed or impaired by normal launderingthereof. Preferably, as in the present example, the non-expansible strip21 of the composite expansible tape member T, is formed of the sameshining material as the shirt S. While in its preferred form as heredisclosed, the expansible tape member T is formed of the non-expansiblefabric strip 22 and the elastic, expansible strip 21, it is to beunderstood that if desired or found expedient, the tape member T may becomprised solely of a length of strip of elastic tape, such as the tape21, with the collar fastening button B stitched or otherwise permanentlyfastened to the outer exposed end thereof.

It will also be evident that various other changes, modifications,variations, substitutions, eliminations and additions may be resorted towithout departing from the broad spirit and scope of my invention, andhence I do not desire or intend to limit my invention in all respects tothe exact and specific form thereof as disclosed herein, except as maybe required by intended specific limitations thereto appearing in theclaim hereto appended.

What I claim is:

In a shirt and collar neckband having separate ends at the front thereoffor overlapping to fasten said neckband, in combination, said neckbandincluding an inner ply and an outer ply; one of said separate ends ofsaid neckband having a buttonhole therein; the other and opposite 'separate end of said neckband having a buttonhole through said outer plythereof only disposed transversely thereacross; an expansible tapemember comprised of a flat, band-like strip of elastic material attachedat one end thereof between said inner and outer plies of said neckbandat a location spaced a distance inwardly therealong from saidtransversely disposed buttonhole and providing an outer free end, and aflat, band-like strip of nonexpansible material attached at its innerend to the outer free end of said strip of elastic material between saidinner and outer plies of said neckband and providing an outer free endwith said non-expansible strip of material extending freely slidably andoutwardly through said transversely disposed buttonhole with said outerfree end thereof being freely movable independently and longitudinallyof said neckband by expansion and contraction longitudinally of saidexpansible tape member; a fastening button secured to and movable withsaid outer free end of said non-expansible strip of material byexpansion and contraction longitudinally of said strip of elasticmaterial; said fastening button on said outer free end of saidexpansible tape member being adapted to be received in said buttonholeof said other and opposite separate end of said neckband for yieldinglyfastening said neckband; and said strip of non-expansible materialadjacent its outer end overlying said neckband between the edge of saidneckband and said buttonhole in the normally contracted position of saidtape member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,814,760 Miller July 14, 1931 2,298,381 Horwitz Oct. 13, 1942 2,583,992Bouteloup Jan. 29, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 24,597 Australia Sept. 25, 1935730,731 Great Britain May 25, 1955

